How to Start a Competitive Google Keyword Campaign

Ready to steal click-throughs from your competitors like the savvy marketing professional you know you are? We thought so!

These simple steps can help set your competitive search campaign up for success.

Let’s get started!

Step #1: Identify Your Competitor

You know that ONE competitor that just gets under your skin?

C’mon, you know you have one.

Maybe they always seem like they’re one step ahead. Maybe they mimic your every move. Lots of times they’re talking smack about you or spreading outright lies. Really. Perhaps they’re just vulnerable and deserve punishment. Or maybe, they’ve got such a big piece of the pie, you salivate at the idea of having just another sliver.

It’s time to go after them on the SEM battleground.

Your Google Search campaign keywords should include the name of your competitor and any of their products or services that directly compete with yours. It’s also best practice to use “broad match” as your default keyword type so you can capture spacing and punctuation variations of your keywords.

Step #2: Build a Hard-Working Landing Page

Your landing page needs to do some heavy lifting to get what all marketers want—a conversion, a.ka. the action you want the visitor to take on your page.

Here’s how you can get there:

1. Call your competitor out.

There’s no point in running competitive keywords and ads if you’re not going to mention your competitor by name on your landing page. Calling them out is key to getting a high “quality score” from Google, which allows your ads to run and appear more frequently in search results. In creating content mentioning your competitor, you don’t have to be mean. Be logical. Create a comparative chart in which you obviously are the better choice. Write a “review” of top providers that shows how much you rock. Create any piece of content that would be valuable to visitors. This is where the “art” comes into play.

2. Put your strongest selling point first, then support it.

Whether you’re in retail or the business-to-business industry, consumers are busy and they have short attention spans. Lead with your heavy hitters! We helped a manufacturing client achieve a whopping 48% conversion rate by doing just that. We created a comparison chart that contrasted their product features and benefits with that of their competitor’s. Consumers love comparison charts because they allow them to quickly digest information. Check out our client’s landing page here.

3. Include social proof.

This is an excellent way to make your customers feel good about the action you’re asking them to take. If you have positive testimonials or reviews from your customers, include them! If you’re working on that, you can at least say why your customers love your product. In one client’s campaign, we said we were “America’s Favorite” and then listed several compelling reasons why.

4. Make your call-to-action easy to find.

Don’t send your customers on a wild goose chase. Whether the next step is making a phone call, filling out a form or clicking “buy now,” make that call-to-action obvious. Far too often, marketers bury their call-to-action at the bottom of the page in tiny text. Remember, this isn’t a treasure hunt! Make your call-to-action BIG and BOLD. Another good practice is using a button. People are trained to click buttons, especially when they stand out on the page!

Step #3: Create Comparative, Compelling Ads To Run on Google

In your ads, mention your competitor by name and be straightforward. “See [Company ABC] comparison chart here.” “How does [Company ABC] stack up against the competition?”

Use your imagination!

Remember, it’s not personal. It’s business.

Just think about it from the consumer’s perspective. They’ve searched for Company A’s product and then you serve them ads for Company B’s product. Anything that’s not about Company A needs to be incredibly persuasive.

For example, remember that manufacturing client with the 48% conversion rate? We made strong marketing claims to steal clicks from our their competitor. We said their products “beat” their competitor’s, that they “last 3x longer”, are “easier to install” and are “made in America,” unlike their competition.

And it’s working, too!

To date, the campaign has garnered 8,694 clicks and received 4,138 conversions. The average landing page conversion rate across industries is 2.35%, and the top 25% of those campaigns are converting at 5.31% or higher. Ideally, marketers want to break into the coveted top 10%. These are the landing pages with conversion rates of 11.45% or higher.

Step #4: Watch the results!

If you stayed the course, you should see encouraging results. Remember to set your call-to-action on the page up as conversation or goal within Google, so you can monitor the campaign’s success. Sure, clicks to a page are nice, but it’s what happens next that’s most important. If you feel like you need to make some adjustments, allow a couple weeks to pass before doing so.

Want RSM Marketing to run your competitive keyword campaign for you? Contact us and let’s get the conversation going!